Films by Country: Mexico

MEXICAN HORROR [1950 - 1990]

Mexico is one of only a handful of countries that's been very productive in film without much lapse ever since the silent era, with Mexico City remaining the largest film and TV production hub in Latin America. Mexico is also one of only a handful of countries that's had a steady output of horror films without much lapse ever since the 1930's, with Juan Bustillo Oro's Two Monks (1934) and Fernando de Fuentes' The Phantom of the Convent (1934) being two great examples of solid early Mexican horror. They then entered the 1950s with a bang, starting with the excellent, noir-ish The Faceless Man (1950), again from director Oro. However, that proved to be an anomaly in a decade otherwise marked mostly by Gothic films and horror-western hybrids. While Mexico's older Gothics are fun and atmospheric in their own right, they toe about the same line as what was being done in Italy, the UK and the U.S. at the same time... only with lower production values. The westerns, however, were their own beast and no one but Mexico was really churning these out in significant numbers at the same time. Or ever, really.

A recurring theme from the early 60s until around 1980 was lucha libre (freestyle wrestling) and there was no bigger star of wrestling movies than Rodolfo Guzman Huerta, who appeared in over 50 under his stage name Santo ('The Saint'). Over 30 of those also happened to be action-horror hybrids. Santo and his trademark silver mask faced off against nearly every foe on the horror villain roster, including Dracula / vampires, Dr. Frankenstein / mad doctors, The Wolf Man / werewolves, aliens, witches, mummies, Satan worshipers, robots, headhunters, sorcerers, megalomaniacs, you name it. It seemed audiences couldn't get enough of these films but Santo is, after all, only one man, so other wrestlers like Blue Demon (Alejandro Muñoz Moreno) and Mil Máscaras (Aaron Rodríguez Arellano) were drafted to help fill in the gaps and create even more product. Sometimes they even appeared together. Numerous other wrestlers like Fernando Osés ('El Incognito') and Nathanael León ('Frankenstein') filled out supporting roles (typically as henchmen) and women weren't left out either as they also got their very own wrestling-horror vehicles like Wrestling Women vs. the Aztec Mummy (1964). These films maintained their popularity for a few decades. Like their westerns, the wrestling flicks are instantly distinguishable as Mexican.

While all of the above was going on, Mexico also had other filmmakers doing something a little bit different. There was a successful stab at respectability with Roberto Gavaldón's Day of the Dead fable Macario (1960), which was nominated for both the Palme d'Or at Cannes and Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards. Toward the end of the 60s, Carlos Enrique Taboada emerged with numerous well-acted, classy, atmospheric ghost films and psychological horrors which became favorites. Many of them have since been remade; some more than once. At around the same time, Chilean-born surrealist Alejandro Jodorowsky would start working in Mexico City on avant-garde theater and ended up making the cult classics Fando and Lis (1968), El Topo (1970) and The Holy Mountain (1973) soon after.

  

Many familiar faces would continually pop up in these films. From all indications, Germán Robles became the country's first real horror film star after the one-two punch of El vampiro (1957) and its sequel, The Vampire's Coffin (1957). He then moved on to play numerous other genre roles, like Nostradamus in the Curse of Nostradamus (1960) serial, which was re-edited, divided into four parts and released as four different features here in America.

Abel Salazar (The Brainiac), Armando Silvestre (Night of the Bloody Apes; below, right), Mauricio Garcés (La Llorona), Carlos Agostí (The Bloody Vampire), Ramón Gay (The Aztec Mummy series), former wrestler Wolf Ruvinskis (The Body Snatcher), Argentinian-born Guillermo Murray (World of the Vampires; below, left) and personal favorite Joaquín Cordero (Dr. Satan; below, center) are just a few of the other typically-non-masked male leads who made a decent amount of genre films during this time. We could talk about these guys and others (beefcake actors Jorge Rivero and Andrés García, Valentín Trujillo, Hugo Stiglitz and brothers Fernando and Mario Almada moved more to the forefront later on) but we'd be here all day if we did. Let's just say most of the same actors were reused again and again and these people stayed busy.

  

Of course, there were always a number of lovely ladies to populate these movies, too, like the statuesque Lorena Velázquez (below, left) and American-born Elizabeth Campbell (below, middle), who played female wrestlers Gloria Venus and Golden Rubi in a number of wrestling women films and were also cast as evil female alien invaders on a number of occasions. Others who popped up with regularity include María Eugenia San Martín, Erna Martha Bauman (a former Miss Mexico), Norma Lazareno, Cuban-born Gina Romand, Regina Torné, Ariadna Welter, Ana Bertha Lepe and Elsa Cárdenas, who also appeared in a number of American classics like Giant (1956) and The Wild Bunch (1969). Perhaps most notable of all if we're talking both longevity and Mexploitation is Ana Luisa Peluffo (below, right), who has the others beat credit-wise and also was the first major actress to do a nude scene back in 1955. She wasn't shy in her later films either, which kept her working. Entering the 80s, younger actresses like Lina Santos would stake their claim.

  

Though it was an infrequent occurrence, sometimes Mexican filmmakers would import US or UK horror stars in to headline their genre films. Lon Chaney Jr. appears to have been the first playing "The Mummified Werewolf" in The House of Terror (1960). He'd later be joined by Basil Rathbone, Cameron Mitchell, Boris Karloff and the uber prolific John Carradine, who, not surprisingly, had to one-up everybody and appear in the most (over half a dozen). One would assume this was done for foreign releases except few of the films starring the more internationally recognizable stars were ever released in English. A few exceptions include the four notoriously bad Mexican / U.S. co-productions Karloff appeared in at the end of his career and a couple Carradine did in the 1970s like The Bees (1978). Instead, American audiences were subjected to whatever K. Gordon Murray (who had a number of the 50s and 60s films horribly dubbed and re-edited) happened to be distributing at the time. Either that, or the occasional cut-and-paste hack work of Jerry Warren.

Along with the same actors, you will also see most of the same 25 or so director's names over and over again on the list below. Not surprisingly, some of the most prolific directors of all time are Mexican. Probably best-known to horror fans here in the U.S. are the Cardona's. The family legacy began with René Cardona, who directed 150 films, acted in nearly as many over his six decade long (!) career and unfortunately has a reputation as a schlock director here in the U.S. but was actually a much more accomplished person than that. What a lot of people don't know about him is that he actually made his first films in America, including the first-ever Spanish-language movie produced in Hollywood. Son René Cardona Jr. and grandson René Cardona III both followed in his footsteps. Between them, they're responsible for hundreds of films, including over 50 horror films. They also managed to get many of their movies distributed internationally, which is precisely why more people outside of Mexico actually know who they are. A number of other prolific Mexican directors listed below, including Chano Urueta, Alfredo B. Crevenna and Rafael Baledón, are right up there with them credit-wise and made in excess of 100 films apiece themselves.

Once we move into the mid-80s, Mexico started churning out a ton of cheap direct-to-video films. I mean seemingly endless! Any time I consider bragging about my encyclopedic horror film knowledge, I just head on over to ebay and find a dozen older horror films I'd never even heard of before and they're almost always from somewhere in Asia or Central / South America. While the strong tradition of westerns, wrestlers and Gothics leading up to the video revolution carried over a little bit, the two biggies now flooding the market were sex comedies and violence-and-gore-soaked action and horror films. In other words, pretty much the same exact things audiences in the U.S. and many other countries couldn't get enough of at the time. The primary difference was that in Mexico there was often no fine line separating their action and horror releases.

The action-oriented films are typically highly moralistic and often have a religious slant. They usually center around an upstanding, macho hero out to get revenge and right wrongs or what happens to a poor sap when they get heavily involved in crime and drug rings. However, just as many were straight up sleaze centered around a vicious psycho going around slicing, dicing and hacking their way through the cast. The VHS art for many of these often made them look strictly like action films, with the hero on the cover brandishing a gun, car, airplane and boat crashes and things blowing up in the background, but don't be fooled. A number of these are slasher films. Some were even straight up supernatural horror films.

See the VHS artwork for the three films below? One is about a dead man who returns as a ghost to haunt his murderous wife, another is a vampire film and the last is a gore-soaked slasher about a resurrected Satanist killer. Would you guess any of that by looking at the box art?

  

While a select few of the 80s titles were domestic theatrical releases (a few even made it to U.S. theaters), most were direct-to-video, especially toward the later part of 80s. Mexico also discovered the budget-slashing wonders of commercial grade camcorders because many of their direct-to-video releases were shot on video. That will be appealing to some viewers but not so much to others. Because American video stores were already filled to capacity by the late 80s, most of these were never even released here nor ever made available in English. 

It's also worth noting that Alfonso Cuarón (who'd become the first Latino and first Mexican to win the Best Director Oscar in 2016), Emmanuel Lubezki (the first person ever to win three consecutive Best Cinematography Oscars, 2014-2016) and Guillermo del Toro (the second Mexican to win the Best Director Oscar just this year) all emerged from the low budget Mexican film industry and each made contributions to at least a few of the horror films below.

  

As usual, this is always going to be a work in progress and expect some changes here and there. All of the films listed below are here because I verified their existence, which means I've found a poster, a video box and / or a newspaper or magazine article about them. Titles listed on other sites that I could not verify are left off for the time being. Many of these (mainly the 80s ones) aren't in the main indexes just yet but they'll be moved over eventually.

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1950s

  

- Faceless Man, The (El hombre sin rostro) (1950; Juan Bustillo Oro)

- Revived Monster, The (El monstruo resucitado) (1953; Chano Urueta)

- Return to Youth (Retorno a la juventud) (1954; Chano Urueta)
- Witch, The (La bruja) (1954; Chano Urueta)

- Monster of the Shadows (El monstruo en la sombra) (1955; Zacarías Gómez Urquiza)

- Beast of Hollow Mountain, The (1956; Edward Nassour, Ismael Rodríguez) [co-USA]
- Phantom of the Red House (El fantasma de la casa roja) (1956; Miguel M. Delgado)

  

- Aztec Mummy, The (La momia azteca) (1957; Rafael Portillo)
- Body Snatcher, The (Ladrón de cadáveres) (1957; Fernando Méndez)
- Cry of the Bewitched (Yambaó) (1957; Alfredo B. Crevenna)
- Curse of the Aztec Mummy, The (La maldición de la momia azteca) (1957; Rafael Portillo)
- Diabolical Kidnapping (Secuestro diabolico) (1957; Chano Urueta)
- Headless Rider, The (El jinete sin cabeza) (1957; Chano Urueta)
- Head of Pancho Villa, The (La cabeza de Pancho Villa) (1957; Chano Urueta)
- Living Idol, The (El ídolo viviente) (1957; René Cardona, Albert Lewin) [co-USA]

- Mark of Satan, The (La marca de Satanás) (1957; Chano Urueta)

- Swamp of the Lost Monster (El pantano de las ánimas) (1957; Rafael Baledón) ▲
- Vampire, The (El vampiro) (1957; Fernando Méndez)

- Castle of the Monsters (El castillo de los monstruos) (1958; Julián Soler)

- Mysteries of Black Magic (Misterios de la magia negra) (1958; Miguel M. Delgado)
- New Invisible Man, The (El hombre que logró ser invisible) (1958; Alfredo B. Crevenna)
- Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy, The (La momia azteca contra el robot humano) (1958; Rafael Portillo)
- Vampire's Coffin, The (El ataúd del vampiro) (1958; Fernando Méndez)
- Witch Suckled Them, The (Se los chupó la bruja) (1958; Jaime Salvador)
- Zorro vs. the Teenage Monster (El Zorro escarlata en la venganza del ahorcado) (1958; Rafael Baledón)

  

- Black Pit of Dr. M, The (Misterios de ultratumba) (1959; Fernando Méndez)
- Hanged Man's Ghost vs. The Black Whip, The (El ánima del ahorcado contra el latigo negro) (1959; Vicente Oroná, Jesús Marín)
- Living Coffin, The (El grito de la muerte) (1959; Fernando Méndez)
- Man and the Monster, The (El hombre y el monstruo) (1959; Rafael Baledón)
- Return of the Monster (El regreso del monstruo) (1959; Joselito Rodríguez)

- Santa Claus (Santa Claus vs. The Devil) (1959; René Cardona) ▲
- Woman and the Beast, The (La mujer y la bestia) (1959; Alfonso Corona Blake)
- Scarlet Fox, The (El Zorro Escarlata) (1959; Rafael Baledón)
- Scarlet Fox: Ghost Stagecoach, The (El zorro escarlata en diligencia fantasma) (1959; Rafael Baledón)

1960s

- Black Skull, The (La calavera negra) (1960; Joselito Rodríguez)
- Crying Woman, The (La Llorona) (1960; René Cardona)
- Hell of Frankenstein, The (Orlak, el infierno de Frankenstein) (1960; Rafael Baledón)
- House of Terror (La casa del terror) (1960; Gilberto Martínez Solares)
- Iron Mask, The (La máscara de hierro) (1960; Alberto Mariscal, Joselito Rodríguez)

- Macario (1960; Roberto Gavaldón) ▲
- Phantom of the Operetta (El fantasma de la opereta) (1960; Fernando Cortés)
- Ship of Monsters, The (La nave de los monstruos) (1960; Rogelio A. González)
- Skeleton of Mrs. Morales (El esqueleto de la señora Morales) (1960; Rogelio A. Gonzáles)

  

- Brain of Evil (Santo contra cerebro del mal) (1961; Joselito Rodríguez) [co-Cuba]

- Curse of Nostradamus, The (La maldición de Nostradamus) (1961; Federico Curiel)

- Curse of the Doll People (Muñecos infernales) (1961; Benito Alazraki)
- Devil's Tiepin, The (El fistol de diablo) (1961; Fernando Fernández)
- Diabolical Game (Juego diabólico) (1961; Fernando Fernández)
- Fatal Trap (Trampa fatal) (1961; Fernando Fernández)
- Infernal Men, The (Santo contra hombres infernales) (1961; Joselito Rodríguez) [co-Cuba]

- Madness from Terror (Locura de terror) (1961; Julián Soler)

- Mark of the Dead Man (La marca del muerto) (1961; Fernando Cortés)
- World of the Vampires (El mundo de los vampiros) (1961; Alfonso Corona Blake)

- Blood of Nostradamus, The (La sangre de Nostradamus) (1962; Federico Curiel)
- Bloody Vampire, The (El vampiro sangriento) (1962; Miguel Morayta)
- Brainiac, The (El barón del terror) (1962; Chano Urueta)
- Frankenstein, the Vampire and Co. (Frankestein el vampiro y compañía) (1962; Benito Alazraki)
- Genii of Darkness (Nostradamus, el genio de las tinieblas) (1962; Federico Curiel)
- Infernal Coffin, The (El ataúd infernal) (1962; Fernando Fernández)
- Invasion of the Zombies (Santo contra los zombies) (1962; Benito Alazraki)

- Little Red Riding Hood and the Monsters (Caperucita y Pulgarcito contra los monstruos) (1962; Roberto Rodríguez) ▲
- Monster Demolisher, The (Nostradamus y el destructor de monstruos) (1962; Federico Curiel)
- Revenge of the Resurrected (La venganza del resucitado) (1962; Federico Curiel)
- Robots of Death (Los autómatas de la muerte) (1962; Federico Curiel)
- Santo vs. the Vampire Women (Santo vs. las mujeres vampiro) (1962; Alfonso Corona Blake)
- Spiritism (Espiritismo) (1962; Benito Alazraki)
- Witch's Mirror, The (El espejo de la bruja) (1962; Chano Urueta)

- Bring Me the Vampire (Échenme al vampiro) (1963; Alfredo B. Crevenna, Alberto Mariscal)
- Curse of the Crying Woman, The (La maldición de la Llorona) (1963; Rafael Baledón) ▼

- Doctor of Doom (Las luchadoras contra el médico asesino) (1963; René Cardona)
- Hotel of the Dead (Santo en el hotel de la muerte) (1963; Federico Curiel)
- House of the Frights (La casa de los espantos) (1963; Alfredo B. Crevenna, Alberto Mariscal)
- Incredible Face of Dr. B. The (Rostro infernal) (1963; Alfredo B. Crevenna)
- Invasion of the Vampires (La invasión de los vampiros) (1963; Miguel Morayta)
- Kiss from Beyond the Grave (El beso de ultratumba) (1963; Carlos Toussaint)
- Living Head, The (La cabeza viviente) (1963; Chano Urueta)
- Macabre Mark, The (La huella macabra) (1963; Alfredo B. Crevenna, Alberto Mariscal)
- Monster of the Volcano (El monstruo de los volcanes) (1963; Jaime Salvador)
- Neutron vs. the Amazing Dr. Caronte (Neutrón contra el Dr. Caronte) (1963; Federico Curiel)
- Santo in the Wax Museum (Santo en el museo de cera) (1963; Alfonso Corona Blake)
- Terrible Giant of the Snow (El terrible gigante de las nieves) (1963; Jaime Salvador)

  

- Attack of the Mayan Mummy (1964; Rafael Portillo, Jerry Warren) [co-USA]
- Bats, The (Los murciélagos) (1964; Juan José Ortega) [missing]
- Diabolical Duchess, The (La duquesa diabólica) (1964; Arturo Martinez)
- Face of the Screaming Werewolf (1964; Gilberto Martínez Solares, Rafael Portillo, Jerry Warren) [co-USA]
- Mind and the Crime, The (La mente y el crimen) (1964; Alejandro Galindo)
- Museum of Horror (Museo del horror) (1964; Rafael Baledón)
- Wrestling Women vs. the Aztec Mummy (La luchadoras contra la momia) (1964; René Cardona)

- Adventure at the Center of the Earth (Aventura al centro de la tierra) (1965; Alfredo B. Crevenna)
- Blue Demon: El Demonio Azul (1965; Chano Urueta)
- Diabolical Hatchet, The (El hacha diabólica) (1965; José Díaz Morales)
- Ghost Jesters (Los fantasmas burlones) (1965; Rafael Baledón)
- Ghost Town (El pueblo fantasma) (1965; Alfredo B. Crevenna)
- Neutron Traps the Invisible Killers (El asesino invisible) (1965; René Cardona)
- 100 Cries of Terror (Cien gritos de terror) (1965; Ramón Obón)

- Rider of the Skulls, The (El Charro de las Calaveras) (1965; Alfredo Salazar) ▲
- Santo vs. the Strangler (Santo vs el estrangulador) (1965; René Cardona)
- She-Wolf, The (La loba) (1965; Rafael Baledón)

- Blue Demon vs. the Satanic Power (Blue Demon vs. el poder satánico) (1966; Chano Urueta)
- Clutching Hand, The (La mano que aprieta) (1966; Alfredo B. Crevenna)
- Dr. Satan (1966; Miguel Morayta)
- Ghost of the Strangler (Espectro del estrangulador) (1966; René Cardona)
- Grave Robbers (Profanadores de tumbas) (1966; José Díaz Morales)
- Planetary Giants (Gigantes planetarios) (1966; Alfredo B. Crevenna)
- Planet of the Female Invaders (El planeta de las mujeres invasoras) (1966; Alfredo B. Crevenna) <
- Witch Riders, The (Los jinetes de la bruja) (1966; Vicente Oroná)

- Empire of Dracula, The (El imperio de Drácula) (1967; Federico Curiel)
- Panther Women, The (La mujeres panteras) (1967; René Cardona)
- Pedro Paramo (1967; Carlos Velo)
- Rocambole vs. the Harpies (Rocambole contra las mujeres arpías) (1967; Emilio Gómez Muriel)
- Santo vs. Baron Brakola (El barón Brakola) (1967; José Díaz Morales)
- Specter's Road (El camino de los espantos) (1967; Gilberto Martínez Solares)

- Attack of the Witches (Atacan las brujas) (1968; José Díaz Morales)
- Autopsy of a Ghost (Autopsia de un fantasma) (1968; Ismael Rodríguez)
- Batwoman, The (La mujer murcielago) (1968; René Cardona)
- Blue Demon vs. the Diabolical Women (Blue Demon contra las diabólicas) (1968; Chano Urueta)
- Blue Demon vs. the Infernal Brains (Blue Demon contra cerebros infernales) (1968; Chano Urueta)
- Captives of the Beyond (Cautivo del mas allá) (1968; Rafael Portillo)
- Chewing Gum (Los chicles) (1968; Julio Bracho, Ismael Rodríguez) [short]
- Chinese Room, The (El cuarto chino) (1968; Albert Zugsmith) [co-USA]
- Dr. Satan and the Black Magic (Dr. Satán y la magia negra) (1968; Rogelio A. González)

  

- Drifter in the Rain (Vagabundo en la lluvia) (1968; Carlos Enrique Taboada)
- Even the Wind Is Afraid (Hasta el viento tiene miedo) (1968; Carlos Enrique Taboada)
- Fear Chamber (The Torture Zone) (1968; Jack Hill, Juan Ibáñez) [co-USA]
- Hellish Spiders (Arañas infernales) (1968; Federico Curiel)
- House of Evil (Macabre Serenda) (1968; Jack Hill, Juan Ibáñez) [co-USA]
- Long Journey to Death, A (Un largo viaje hacia la muerte) (1968; José María Fernández Unsáin)
- Scapular, The (El escapulario) (1968; Servando González)
- Shadow of the Bat (La sombra del murciélago) (1968; Federico Curiel)
- Stranger in the House, A (Un extraño en la casa) (1968; Alfredo Zacarías)
- Woman Possessed, A (La endemoniada) (1968; Emilio Gómez Muriel)

- Blue Demon and the Female Invaders (Blue Demon y las invasoras) (1969; Gilberto Martínez Solares)
- Book of Stone, The (El libro de piedra) (1969; Carlos Enrique Taboada) ▼

- Diabolical Pact (Pacto diabólico) (1969; Jaime Salvador)
- Door and the Butcher's Wife, The (La puerta y la mujer del carnicero) (1969; Luis Alcoriza, Ismael Rodríguez, Chano Urueta)
- Madame Death (La señora Muerte) (1969; Jaime Salvador)
- Night of the Bloody Apes (La horripilante bestia humana) (1969; René Cardona)
- Santo and the Border of Terror (Santo en la frontera del terror) (1969; Rafael Pérez Grovas)
- Santo in 'The Treasure of Dracula' (Santo en El tesoro de Drácula) (1969; René Cardona)
- Secret of Death (Enigma de muerte) (1969; Federico Curiel)
- Vampire Girls, The (Las vampiras; The Vampires) (1969; Federico Curiel)
- Vengeance of Huracan Ramirez, The (La venganza de Huracán Ramirez) (1969; Joselito Rodríguez)
- Wrestling Women vs. the Killer Robot (Las luchadoras vs el robot asesino) (1969; René Cardona)

1970s

- Land of the Dead (El mundo del los muertos) (1970; Gilberto Martínez Solares) ▲
- Panic (Pánico) (1970; Julián Soler)
- Santo and Blue Demon vs. the Monsters (Santo el enmascarado de plata y Blue Demon contra los monstruos) (1970; Gilberto Martínez Solares)
- Santo vs. the Riders of Terror (Santo contra los jinetes del terror) (1970; René Cardona)
- Vengeance of the Vampire Women (La venganza de las mujeres vampiro) (1970; Federico Curiel)

- Alien Terror (Incredible Invasion) (1971 [filmed in 1968]; Jack Hill, Juan Ibáñez) [co-USA]
- Capulina vs. the Vampires (Capulina contra los vampiros) (1971; René Cardona)
- Fearmaker, The (El hacedor de miedo) (1971; Anthony Carras)
- Octaman (1971; Harry Essex) [co-USA]
- Santo and the Vengeance of the Mummy (Santo en la venganza de la momia) (1971; René Cardona)
- Snake People (La muerte viviente) (1971 [filmed in 1968]; Jack Hill, Juan Ibáñez) [co-USA]

  

- Chanoc vs. the Tiger and the Vampire (Chanoc contra el tigre y el vampiro) (1972; Gilberto Martínez Solares)
- Incredible Professor Zovek, The (El increíble profesor Zovek) (1972; René Cardona)

- Mummies of Guanajuato, The (La momias de Guanajuato) (1972; Federico Curiel)
- Night of a Thousand Cats, The (La noche de los mil gatos) (1972; René Cardona Jr.)
- One Minute Before Death (1972; Rogelio A. González)
- Oval Portrait, The (El retrato ovalado) (1972; Rogelio A. González)

- Queen Doll (Muñeca reina) (1972; Sergio Olhovich) ▲
- Robbery of the Mummies of Guanajuato (El robo de las momias de Guanajuato) (1972; Tito Novaro)
- Santo vs. Frankenstein's Daughter (Santo vs. la hija de Frankestein) (1972; Miguel M. Delgado)
- Siege of Terror (Cerco de terror) (1972; Luis Marquina)

  

- Beasts of Terror (Las bestias del terror) (1973; Alfredo B. Crevenna)
- Capulina vs. the Mummies (Capulina contra las momias) (1973; Alfredo Zacarías)
- Castle of the Mummies of Guanajuato (El castillo de las momias de Guanajuato) (1973; Tito Novaro)
- Chabelo and Pepito vs. the Monsters (Chabelo y Pepito contra los monstruos) (1973; José Estrada)
- Curse of the Devil (El retorno de Walpurgis) (1973; Carlos Aured) [co-Spain]
- Dr. Death (Santo contra el doctor Muerte) (1973; Rafael Romero Marchent) [co-Spain]
- Invasion of the Dead (Blue Demon y Zovek en La invasión de los muertos) (1973; René Cardona)
- Mansion of Madness, The (La mansión de la locura) (1973; Juan López Moctezuma)
- Prophet Mimi, The (El profeta Mimi) (1973; José Estrada)
- Santo & Blue Demon vs. Dracula & the Wolf Man (Santo y Blue Demon vs Drácula y el Hombre Lobo) (1973; Miguel M. Delgado)
- Santo vs. Black Magic Woman (Santo contra la magia negra) (1973; Alfredo B. Crevenna)
- Santo vs. the Killers from Other Worlds (Santo contra los asesinos de otros mundos) (1973; Rubén Galindo)
- Strange Case of the Man and the Beast (El hombre ya la bestia) (1973; Julián Soler) ▼

- All the Horrors of Satan (Satanás de todos los horrores) (1974; Julián Soler)
- Capulina vs. the Monsters (Capulina contra los monstruos) (1974; Miguel Morayta)
- Chosen Survivors (1974; Sutton Roley) [co-USA]
- Devil Gunman, The (El pistolero del diablo) (1974; Rubén Galindo)
- Devil's Woman, The (La mujer del diablo) (1974; Alfredo B. Crevenna)
- Macabre Legends of the Colony (Leyendas macabras de la colonia) (1974; Arturo Martínez)
- Revenge of the Crying Woman (La venganza de la llorona) (1974; Miguel M. Delgado)

- Santo and Blue Demon vs. Doctor Frankenstein (Santo y Blue Demon contra el doctor Frankestein) (1974; Miguel M. Delgado)
- Vampires of Coyoacan, The (Los vampiros de Coyoacán) (1974; Arturo Martínez)

  

- Blacker Than the Night (Más negro que la noche) (1975; Carlos Enrique Taboada)
- Devil's Horse, The (El caballo del diablo) (1975; Federico Curiel)
- Evil Eye (Malocchio; Más allá del exorcismo) (1975; Mario Siciliano) [co-Italy, Spain]
- Mary, Mary, Bloody Mary (1975; Juan López Moctezuma)
- Mummies of San Angel, The (Las momias de San Ángel) (1975; Arturo Martínez)
- Satanico Pandemonium (1975; Gilberto Martínez Solares)

- Fear Doesn't Ride a Donkey (El miedo no anda en burro) (1976; Fernando Cortés)
- Kaliman in the Sinister World of Humanon (Kalimán en el siniestro mundo de Humanón) (1976; Alberto Mariscal)
- Santo vs. the She-Wolves (Santo vs. las lobas) (1976; Rubén Galindo, Jaime Jiménez Pons)
- Son of Alma Grande, The (El hijo de Alma Grande) (1976; Tito Novaro)

- Alucarda (1977; Juan López Moctezuma) ▲
- Chanoc on the Island of the Dead (Chanoc en la isla de los muertos) (1977; Rafael Pérez Grovas)
- Diabolical, The (El diabólico) (1977; Giovanni Korporaal)
- Mansion of the 7 Mummies (La mansion de las 7 momias) (1977; Rafael Lanuza)
- Tintorera: Killer Shark (¡Tintorera!) (1977; René Cardona Jr.)

- Bees, The (Abejas asesinas; Killer Bees) (1978; Alfredo Zacarías)
- Bermuda Triangle, The (El triángulo diabólico de las Bermudas) (1978; René Cardona Jr.)
- Hot Snake (Víbora caliente) (1978; Fernando Durán Rojas)
- Terror Storm (Ciclón; Cyclone) (1978; René Cardona Jr.) [co-Italy]
- Whip, The (El látigo) (1978; Alfredo B. Crevenna)

- Aunt Alejandra (La tía Alejandra) (1979; Arturo Ripstein)
- Guyana: Cult of the Damned (Guyana: Crime of the Century) (1979; René Cardona Jr.)
- Rat in the Darkness, A (Una rata en la oscuridad) (1979; Alfredo Salazar)
- Whip Against Satan, The (El látigo contra Satanás) (1979; Alfredo B. Crevenna)

  

1980s

- Deadly Nightmare (Pesadilla mortal) (1980; Alfredo B. Crevenna)
- Death Rider, The (El jinete de la muerte) (1980; Federico Curiel)
- Demonoid: Messenger of Death (1980; Alfredo Zacarías)
- Dracula Dynasty, The (La dinastía de Dracula) (1980; Alfredo B. Crevenna)
- Nightmare City (Incubo sulla città contaminata) (1980; Umberto Lenzi) [co-Italy, Spain] ▼
- Taste of Blood (Sabor a sangre) (1980; Mario Hernández)
- Whip Against Killer Mummies, The (El látigo las momias asesinas) (1980; Ángel Rodríguez Vázquez)

- Chanoc and the Son of Satan vs. the Killer Vampires (Chanoc y el hijo del Santo contra los vampiros asesinos) (1981; Rafael Pérez Grovas)
- Ghost of the Lake, The (El fantasma del lago) (1981; Benito Alazraki)
- Turn of the Screw, The (Otra vuelta de tuerca) (1981; Dimitrio Sarrás) [TV]

  

- Amityville II: The Possession (1982; Damiano Damiani) [co-USA]
- Sheriff's Strange Son, The (El extraño hijo del Sheriff) (1982; Fernando Durán Rojas)

- Conquest (El Bárbaro) (1983; Lucio Fulci) [co-Italy, Spain] ▲
- Demon Hunter (Cazador de demonios) (1983; Gilberto de Anda)
- Hex, The (El maleficio) (1983; Raúl Araiza) [TV]
- Terror in the Barrios (Terror en los barrios) (1983; Julio Aldama)
- To Kill a Stranger (1983; Juan López Moctezuma) [co-USA]

- Death of the Jackal, The (La muerte del chacal) (1984; Pedro Galindo III)
- Frankenstein's Great Aunt Tillie (1984; Myron C. Gold) [co-UK, USA]
- Heart of the Night, The (El corazón de la noche) (1984; Jaime Humberto Hermosillo)
- Mad Monk, The (El monje loco) (1984; Julio Aldama) [SOV]
- Massacre in Rio Grande (Masacre en Río Grande) (1984; Pedro Galindo III)
- Motel (Asesinato en el... Motel; Murderer in the Motel) (1984; Luis Mandoki)
- Poison for the Fairies (Veneno para las hadas) (1984; Carlos Enrique Taboada) [EV]
- Savage Women (Mujeres salvajes) (1984; Gabriel Retes)
- Terror, Sex and Witchcraft (Narco Satanico) (1984; Rafael Portillo)

  

- Brief History of Horror (Pequeña historia de horror) (1985; Maruxa Vilalta) [short]
- By Hook or By Crook (A garrote limpio) (1985; Julio Ruiz Llaneza)
- Cemetery of Terror (Cementerio del terror) (1985; Rubén Galindo Jr.)
- Deadly Jungle (Abriendo fuego; Jungla mortal; Open Fire) (1985; Rodolfo de Anda)
- Kill Me At Once (Que me maten de una vez) (1985; Óscar Blancarte)
- Red Menace, The (La amenaza roja) (1985; Benjamín Cann)
- Segua, The (El beso de las brujas; Kiss of the Witches; La segua) (1985; Antonio Yglesias)
- Terror and Black Lace (Terror y encajes negros) (1985; Luis Alcoriza)
- Treasure of the Amazon (El tesoro del Amazonas) (1985; René Cardona Jr.) [co-USA]

- Bloody Vacation (Vacaciones sangrientas) (1986; Aldo Monti)
- Doña Lupe (1986; Guillermo del Toro) [30m. short]
- Female Scorpion, The (La Alacrana) (1986; María Luisa Alcalá, José Luis Urquieta)
- Hex 2: Messengers of Hell, The (El maleficio II) (1986; Raúl Araiza)

- I Love You Catalina (Yo te amo Catalina) (1986; José Luis García Agraz)

- Lovers of the Lord of the Night (Las amantes del señor de la noche) (1986; Isela Vega)

- Night Beast (Bestia nocturna) (1986; Humberto Martinez Mijares)
- Satanic Invocation (Invocación satánica) (1986; Xorge Noble) [SOV]

  

- Beaks: The Movie (Birds of Prey; El ataque de los pájaros) (1987; René Cardona Jr.)
- Blood Dynasty (Dinastia sangrienta) (1987; Luis Quintanilla Rico)
- Demond Doll (Muerte infernal) (1987; Roberto Guinar, Ronald Wertheim)

- Don't Panic (Dimensiones ocultas; El secreto de la ouija) 1987; Rubén Galindo Jr.)
- Eyes of the Dead (Los ojos del muerto) (1987; Alberto Mariscal)
- Geometria (1987; Guillermo del Toro) [8m. short] [EV]

- Hell's Way (Camino al infierno) (1987; José Luis Urquieta)
- Human Hunting (Cacería humana) (1987; Valentín Trujillo)
- Killer Mind (Mente asesina) (1987; Alberto Mariscal)
- Night Killer (Asesino nocturno) (1987; Fernando Durán Rojas)
- Night of Terror and Witches (Noche de terrock y brujas) (1987; Luis de Llano) [TV]
- Suicidal Revenge (Venganza suicida) (1987; Julio Ruiz Llaneza)
- Thirst for Revenge (Sed de venganza) (1987; unknown) [vampire]
- Witch in the Neighborhood (La bruja de la vecindad) (1987; Damián Acosta Esparza)

  

- AR-15: Relentless Command (AR-15 Comando implacable) (1988; Alejandro Todd)
- Bloody Vacation (Vacaciones sangrientas) (1988; Aldo Monti)
- Brutal Death (Muerte brutal) (1988; Alfonso Sanchez Olmos) [SOV]
- Infernal Rapist, The (El violador infernal) (1988; Damián Acosta Esparza) [EV]
- Night of the Beast, The (La noche de la bestia) (1988; Gilberto de Anda)
- Night of Vultures (Noche de buitres) (1988; Ismael Rodríguez Jr.)
- One More Step (Un paso al más aca) (1988; Gilberto de Anda)
- Panic on the Mountain (Pánico en la montaña) (1988; Pedro Galindo III)
- Vacations of Terror (Vacaciones de terror) (1988; René Cardona III)

- Angels of Death (Los angeles de la muerte) (1989; ?) [SOV]
- Appointment with Death (Cita con la muerte) (1989; Alfonso Cuarón, Juan Antonio de la Riva, Alfredo Gurrola, Rafael Montero)
- Blood Screams (The Bloody Monks) (1989; Glenn Gebhard) [EV] ▼
- Bloody Summer (Verano sangriento) (1989; Jorge Manrique)

- Cold-Blooded Violence (Violencia a sangre fria) (1989; Walter de la Gala, Juan Antonio de la Riva, Sergio Guerrero, Julián Pastor) [TV]
- Crime of Crimes (1989 [filmed in 1987]; Alfredo Zacarías) [co-USA]
- Endless Nightmare (Pesadilla sin fin) (1989; Carlos Durán A.)
- Grave Robbers (Ladrones de tumbas) (1989; Rubén Galindo Jr.)
- Hell's Trap (Trampa infernal) (1989; Pedro Galindo III)
- Hidden Pleasures (Los placeres ocultos) (1989; René Cardona Jr.)
- Mansion of Terror, The (La mansión del terror) (1989 [c/1987]; Ramón Obón)

- Panic in the Forest (Pánico en el bosque) (1989; Roberto Guzmán, Roberto Marroquín)
- Santa Sangre (1989; Alejandro Jodorowsky) [co-Italy] [EV] ▼

- Scared to Death (Miedo a la muerte; Terror a la muerte) (1989; Mario Alcantara)
- Vampire Wino, The (El vampiro teporocho) (1989; Rafael Villaseñor Kuri)

  

- Blood Pact (Pacto sangriento) (1990; Pepe Romay)
- Blood-Stained Nun, The (La monja ensangrentada) (1990; Víctor Ugalde)
- Bloody Seduction (Seducción sangrienta) (1990; Aldo Monti) [EV]
- Bloody Tarot (Tarot sangriento) (1990; Aurora Martínez)
- Cage of Death, The (La jaula de la muerte) (1990; Raúl Araiza)
- Cult of Death, The (La secta de la muerte) (1990; Román Hernández)
- Cushion, The (El almohadon) (1990; Alicia Violante)
- Demons of the Desert (Los demonios del desierto) (1990; Luis Quintanilla Rico)
- Devil Fugitives (Fugitivos del diablo) (1990; unknown) [TV]
- Diabolical Vengeance (Vengaza diabolica) (1990; Francisco Guerrero)
- Direct Trip to Hell (Viaje directo al infierno) (1990; Raúl Araiza)

- Fatal Nightmare (El intruso; Pesadilla fatal) (1990; René Cardona III)

- Frenzied (Furia asesina) (1990; René Cardona Jr.)

- Funeral of Terror (Funerales del terror) (1990; Alberto Mariscal)
- Healers (Los curanderos) (1990; Gilberto Martínez Solares)
- Ladies of the Night (Mujeres de media noche) (1990; Christian González)
- Motel of Death (El motel de la muerte) (1990; Luis Estrada, Jorge Prior)
- Images of Death (Imagen de muerte) (1990; Antonio de Anda)
- Man Who Returned from Death, The (El hombre que volvió de la muerte) (1990; Raúl Araiza)
- Midnight Women (Mujeres de medianoche) (1990; Christian González)

- Murderer, The (El homicida) (1990; Alfonso Rosas Priego hijo)
- Night of Beasts (Noche de fieras) (1990; Alfredo B. Crevenna)
- On the Edge of Terror (Al filo del terror) (1990; Alfredo B. Crevenna)
- Operation Jaguar (Operación jaguar) (1990; Roberto Marroquín)

- Orgy of Terror (Orgia of terror) (1990; Martha Rodríguez)
- Resurrected to Kill (Resucitaré para matarlos) (1990; Rubén Galindo Jr.)
- Satanic Sect: Messenger of the Lord (Secta satanica: El enviado del Sr.) (1990; Arturo Martínez)

- Slaughter Night (Masacre nocturna) (1990; Gilberto de Anda)
- Theater of Horror, The (El teatro del horror) (1990; Pedro Galindo III)
- Vacation of Terror II (Vacaciones de terror 2) (1990; Pedro Galindo III)

- Violent Deaths (Muertes violentas) (1990; Miguel Marte)
- With Fear in the Veins (Con el miedo en las venas) (1990; José Luis García Agraz)
- Zone of Silence (La zona del silencio) (1990; Rodolfo de Anda)

- Shriek of Terror (Alarido del terror) (1991 [filmed in 1989]; René Cardona III)

  

TOTAL FILMS:
325

NOTES:
- There are likely dozens of movies missing from the late 80s alone. I've found a bunch of actual titles but have yet to locate a poster, video box or something else to verify their existence.
- If you see a few things in brackets next to a title, they're basically just notes to myself. [EV] denotes an English version exists, either dubbed or subtitled, and is only going to placed next to titles I have not reviewed yet. [SOV] means it is shot on video. [TV] means it was made for television.
- Apparently there are two different films called Pesadilla sangrienta released at around the same time. The first is a 1990 "thriller" (as per IMDb) with no plot synopsis directed by Miguel Marta. The second is a re-title of Vacaciones de Terror 2 (1989) for the Mex-America VHS release.
- Masacre en Río Grande (1984) is actually a sequel and direct follow-up to La muerte del chacal (1984) filmed at the same time and featuring the same characters.
- I've seen Masacre nocturna listed as being from 1990 and 1997. If I find out it's the latter, it'll be removed.
- The 1981 version of Henry James' The Turn of the Screw (Otra vuelta de tuerca) was a three-part TV miniseries.
- I skimmed through Noche de terrock y brujas (1987), which turned out to be a made-for-TV remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (!) shot on video with cheap Halloween kit makeups. It runs less than 50 minutes.
- Also skimmed through bits of Funerales del terror and noticed it seemed more drama than horror so it may be taken off of here once I have a chance to sit through the whole thing. It's VERY talky.

RESOURCES:
- The Mexican Film Bulletin (Dr. David Wilt)

- Mexican Horror Movies: A List of Scary Movies from Mexico (Jim Goad)

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Any comments, corrections, additions, etc. are always more than welcome so please drop a message down below if you've got anything to say.